Alia Atkinson booked her passage to Beijing with a time trial in the 200 metre breastroke in Austin, Texas in a new national record.

Swimming at the Texas Senior Circuit Swim Meet June 5-8 Alia posted 2:31.28 besting the Olympic B Qualifying time of 2:33.40. Earlier in the meet proper she had placed third in a time of 2:33.89 an agonizing .40 off the mark needed to go to the 2008 Olympic Games.

In the time trial Atkinson went out hard on the first 50 in 34.40 just .07 slower than her fourth place performance in the one lap event. The first 100 metres went in 1:13.19 before she closed the last 100 in 1:18.09. This makes up somewhat  for the disappointment of weeks earlier when she had made numerous Olympic Qualifying times at her school pool at Texas A and M only to learn that the times would not count as the pool was 49.97 metres long instead of 50 metres the official length an Olympic sized swimming pool.

The 19 year old swimmer who represented Comets swim team also put up good performances in the afore mentioned where she placed fourth in a time of 34.33. She placed second in the 100 metre breastroke in 1:12.06 with a split time of 33.86. She took top spot in the 100 butterfly C Final with a time of 1:03.69 split time 29.75. She also attempted another Olympic qualifying mark this time in the 100 metre breastroke. That time trial was not as successful as the 200 as her first 50 of 34.92 worked against her and she touched in 1:13.26.